To the left, where the sea dropped off hundreds of feet, a black-tipped shark cruised ominously in the distance. A curious parrot fish, a school of yellow-striped grunts and a bug-eyed squirrel fish swam an arm's length away, perhaps hoping for a handout from our group of six divers and our guide.

Directly below us, a green sea turtle chomped on a chunk of coral, oblivious to our presence. I moved in to photograph its sleek head. It didn't move an inch.

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PROVIDENCIALES, Turks and Caicos Islands — Sixty feet below the surface of the aquamarine western Atlantic, my 12-year-old daughter, Maddie, glided gently along the reef, her arms crossed in Buddha-like meditation. To the left, where the sea dropped...